Know When to Hold 'Em

Former real estate developer Barry Shulman, 59, took a gamble by
coming out of retirement to purchase Card Player
magazine--and it paid off big. Now a championship poker player as
well as publisher and owner of Card Player, CardPlayerPress
and CardPlayer.com, Shulman offers his inside tips for
improving your poker game and, consequently, your entrepreneurial
game:

1. Read looks and gestures. Are players leaning forward?
Are they acting quickly? Poker helps you read nonverbal
cues--crucial when you're deciding whether to press for that
extra percent.

2. Know your limits. The mental stuff separates the good
from the best. If you run into 50/50 circumstances six consecutive
times and lose all six, are you capable of maintaining
self-control?

3. Understand risk/reward scenarios. If you have a 1 in
13 chance of hitting an inside straight, the question is not, Can
you make the straight? but, What's the upside? Make sure the
reward is worth it.

4. Improve number-related skills. When the flop comes,
you should know if your hand has an 80 percent or a 20 percent
chance of winning.

5. Learn effective bluffing. Pretending you have
something you don't often backfires. The same applies in
business, so be prepared to deliver the goods.

6. Consider slow-playing techniques. Slow playing is when
you have a good hand and play it as if you don't. You might
achieve a greater return if you don't show the strength of your
hand.

7. Grasp the risk of ruin. If your business is worth $1
million, and there's an opportunity costing $1 million with a
return of only $2 million, it's not worth the risk. If it
fails, the game's over.